Flowers For a Broken Girl
by Lesyeuxbleus
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is the chief at Konoha Police Department and deals with disasters and problems on a daily basis. However, when Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke's best friend, returns to town with someone that Sasuke not only cared her, but loved, too, all hell breaks loose. Introducing, Haruno Sakura. The women who is smart, beautiful, and...engaged? / Rated M for future chapters!
1. Prologue

Flowers For a Broken Girl

Prologue

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle this guy? He's a pretty big loon."

A tall, dark-haired man with jet-black spiky hair, onyx eyes, and a sharp jawline that could cut someone, read over the stack of papers before him.

 _Hayate Gekko._

 _Age 34._

 _5'10"._

 _Brown hair, brown eyes._

 _Has three kids and a wife._

 _Suspected of murdering a civilian downtown Konoha._

The man just rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly, unable to believe that they were even doubting _him._ He was the chief for Christs sake. As he stepped to the side to get into the light more, his nametag and badge shined in the light and of its astonishment. The cracks and dents in parts of his badge showed everyone all of the shit that he had gone through just to get where he is today.

"Just have a cell ready for him," he said before he lowered the folder to his side and opened the door to the interrogation room. In the dark, gloomy room was an iron table, a light, and two chairs with one being currently occupied.

The suspect glanced up at the sound of the door opening and widened his eyes when he realized who exactly was standing before him. "T-they didn't tell me that you were going to talk to me," Hayate muttered as he held his handcuffed hands together tightly, the knuckles of his hands slowly turning white from the amount of strain he was putting into them.

Throwing the stack of papers carelessly onto the iron table, the chief pulled the chair out slowly. The irritating sound of the metal legs scraping against the pavement struck through the silence, before he then sat down in front of the suspect.

"If you are innocent as you say, I don't see why there would be anything to worry about."

The chief spoke calmly and slowly, but Hayate knew damn well that this was the plan. The chief had all night to sit here and talk bullshit with him. Unlike Hayate, the chief wasn't married and had no girlfriend, fiancé, or even kids for that matter. All the chief had were his friends, parents, and older brother. Being alone without a lover was a big possibility as to how he became so cold, and how he became chief so fast. The Uchiha's, however, were known to be cold and quick thinkers.

And Sasuke Uchiha- the chief- was no exception.

"Hayate, focus. I have all day to sit here and bullshit with you. It's up to _you_ whether I am in a bad mood, or a good mood. Now tell me what happened last Thursday."

Hayate bit the bottom half of his lip and glanced down at his cuffed hands, the light from the lamp to the left of him reflecting off elsewhere.

"I went to the store to grab milk and a pack of cigarettes," he began to finally open his mouth. Sasuke leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, hoping that this poor sap would out himself soon. His mother was expecting him for dinner and if anyone knew Mikoto, it was that she was _serious_ on being on time.

"I was getting ready to pay and then this older guy walks in behind me. He saw that I was short on cash, helped me out, and then I went on my way. End of story."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance and leaned forward towards the iron table. "I said I don't have all day to discuss this, Hayate. Now, you've done pissed me off, so we are going to do this."

Sasuke flipped open the yellow folder in front of him and one-by-one, began to slam down photo evidence and witness statements in front of him. "Everyone saw you leave _with_ him and _follow_ him to the parking lot in the alley. What the fuck happened then?"

Hayate then became defensive as he leaned back against the chair and scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked at the chief. "You don't believe me? Fine, but that's on you. You should know-"

"That you are lying and will be held accountable for this man's murder," Sasuke finished. Hayate narrowed his eyes slowly and opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke had cut him off. "What did you do? Take his wallet? Put a bag over his head? Or maybe you're too dumb to realize what putting a bag over someone's head may do? Strangulation? Stabbing? Shooting? What weapon did you happen to use?"

"I didn't use a damn weapon!"

Sasuke smirked, and Hayate widened his eyes.

 _Bingo._

Hayate had just crumbled into Sasuke's hands without even having to try too hard. This was _too_ easy.

Sasuke grabbed the black pen on the iron table, flipped open an empty notebook, and then gave Hayate a blank stare. "Tell me what happened, and the truth, Gekko."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"Damn, you really are something, Sasuke!"

Sasuke smirked at his co-worker's, Kiba Inuzuka, comment. Kiba was a twenty-three-year old male with a large white German Shepherd, Akamaru, as his partner. He was fairly tall, had brown hair, was a hard worker, but…was unsuccessful with women.

"I wasn't even in there for an hour and he slipped," said Sasuke as he continued to sign over the paperwork on Hayate. His long, strong fingers gripped onto the papers firmly as he read over the words that Hayate had said in the interrogation room.

" _He had threatened to rape my wife and daughter, then kill them both before my eyes_ all _because of some damn debt! You think that I was really going to let that happen to them?! You have family! You know what it's like!"_

Whether Hayate had been lying or not was none of Sasuke's concern, but he would be lying if he would say that his words weren't slowly stitching into his brain. Sasuke had no girlfriend, wife, or fiancée, but he did have a wonderful mother, and a beautiful niece. If he were in Hayate's shoes, there would be no doubt in Sasuke's mind, that the mother fucker who had threatened such actions on his family, would be dead.

But that would be an entirely different story.

"Oh, Naruto!"

Hearing one of the fellow officers call out a name, Sasuke glanced up from the paperwork and watched as a tall, blonde-haired idiot walked into the building.

Naruto immediately spotted Sasuke's gloomy appearance and walked over towards the man. "Hey, bastard. It's been too long, hasn't it?"

Sasuke smirked at Naruto's "insult" directed towards him.

Naruto and Sasuke had known each other all of their life. Naruto Uzumaki was an annoying, bratty kid who no one dared to pay attention to back in school. He was a failure and was an idiot for that matter.

But Sasuke saw him differently.

Even at a young age, because of his last name and who he was, Sasuke was easily popular, and he had hated it. Naruto was the only person who didn't treat Sasuke like a prince, and Sasuke was the only person in school who helped Naruto surpass. Now, with a master's degree in Information Systems and making six figures a year, Naruto has definitely stepped before all of those assholes back in school.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" Sasuke asked as he leaned against the countertop and stared at the blue-eyed male. He was currently wearing a simple, plain white tee and a pair of dark blue jeans. Sasuke was honestly surprised that there was not any ramen smeared on his shirt.

"Well I just got back from over the seas and decided to stop by and say hey to my favorite asshole," said Naruto as he glanced up and looked around the building. "This place has not changed at all."

Sasuke smirked and slowly shook his head as he glanced back down at his paperwork. "So where did you go to overseas?" He began to write down certain points that he would have to make known to Hayate's lawyer.

"Well, Ireland, Australia, Korea…England." Naruto hesitated on saying England and Sasuke caught it instantaneously, as well as a couple of other co-workers who were pretty close with either Sasuke or Naruto.

Sasuke stopped writing down notes, but remained staring down at the paperwork that all of a sudden seemed too difficult to read. Kiba leaned back against his chair by his desk and sighed slowly, causing only Naruto to glance towards him.

"So, does that mean that you ran into Sakura?"

Sasuke remained to keep his head down, but slowly adverted his eyes towards the blonde-haired male as he awaited an answer.

"About that…"

"Naruto! There you are!"

Sasuke furrowed his brows at the sound of a mature, soft spoken voice entering their conversation- very rudely, might he add. He turned his body and felt his entire body tense as he watched a petite, curvy, and _gorgeous_ woman walk into the building and stand behind Naruto. The male's back was currently blocking Sasuke, and for that, he was so thankful for.

Her hair remained that same pink, bubble gum color that she had when she was young, despite that it was now barely gazing her ass in length. Her eyes still the same light green, but almost seemed to have…less light in them compared to when she was younger.

Haruno Sakura.

Naruto's half-sister, an intelligent, stubborn woman, and Sasuke's ex-girlfriend.


	2. Chapter One

**Flowers For a Broken Girl**

 **Chapter One**

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author's Note:** So I want to go ahead and say a big thank you for both reviews and follows just on the prologue! I really do hope you all enjoy this story as much as I will! Yet, with that being said, something else must be discussed. I do enjoy ideas and thoughts to my stories, however, I do not appreciate when I get private messages from individuals ordering me change my story because they either want Sasuke to be engaged, not want Naruto and Sakura related, or something entirely different. I write these stories myself and though I may take some ideas into consideration, I will not change the plot or storyline. There would be no point in me even taking the time to write out a chapter (or story) if I just have to change the plot in the end. So, with that being said, please stop demanding me to change my stories' plot.

Thank you in advance, and I do hope you enjoy this story!

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

Sasuke could only stare at the beautiful woman that stood in front of her half-brother, smiling widely up at him. Naruto and Sakura shared the same mother, but had different fathers. While Sakura looked more like their mother, Kushina, Naruto looked more like his father, Minato.

Sakura's father, Kakashi Hatake, and her mother had had a one night stand after a breakup between Minato and she. Soon after, Kushina and Minato then got back together, only for Kushina to realize that she was pregnant with Sakura. Kakashi was not happy and had wanted nothing to do with the baby. He had told Kushina that he either wanted the baby aborted, or to have Kushina leave his life for good.

So she erased all contact with him.

Despite the fact that the baby was not his, Minato was ecstatic to have another little baby running around the house, and his happiness only became larger when the family had realized that Kushina was having a girl. So, when the baby was born in the spring, they had agreed to name her Sakura Uzumaki Haruno.

Hearing her laugh at something that Naruto had said, Sasuke then bit his bottom lip and glanced to the right where his office was. If he could only get in there before the pink-haired girl had noticed him.

"Why are you tense, Naruto?" Sasuke had heard Sakura's question, before he then watched her stepped to the side of Naruto and made eye-contact with him. Seeing as how her face slightly paled and her eyes widened, it was no doubt that she had not forgiven him for what he had done.

"What are you doing here?"

Her voice was like venom, and it should be. Sasuke was nowhere near the perfect boyfriend when they were dating back in high school.

"I'm the chief, Sakura." He watched her body slightly tense before she folded her arms over her chest. Sasuke's eyes caught something shining against the light and he glanced down to her left hand.

There, on her finger between her middle and pinky, was a white gold engagement ring.

 _What. The. Fuck?_

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

Sakura Haruno had never been a mean girl. She was raised by her parents to treat people with respect and dignity, but seeing Uchiha Sasuke standing before her wanted to make her throw all of those things away, and just beat the living shit out him.

How _dare_ he act like everything between the two of them was okay.

Did he not forget what he had done senior year of high school? The year that he practically destroyed her?

Not wanting to say another word to him, Sakura turned to her older brother, Naruto. "I'll be waiting in my car for you."

With that, she turned on her heels and marched quickly out of the building and into the parking lot where her 2016 grey Honda Civic sat. She quickly unlocked the vehicle and climbed inside before shutting the door harshly. With a heavy sigh, she laid her head against the headrest and closed her eyes slowly.

She knew that it was a big mistake coming back home, but with her studies over in England and recently being engaged to Sai, she knew that regardless, she would have to come back.

The sound of her passenger door opening caused her eyes to open, and when she saw Naruto climbing inside, she started the ignition and quickly pulled out of the parking lot. The ride was silent for a few minutes, before she finally broke it.

"You didn't tell me that he was the chief."

"You didn't ask," replied Naruto. Sakura rolled her eyes at her brother's response, knowing damn well that she should have expected it. This was Naruto, for crying out loud.

"Well, how long?"

Naruto clicked his tongue as he closed one eye in thought. "Not too long, I know that. I think it's been almost two years. After he graduated college, he passed the exam, went to the academy, and graduated at the top. He started out with a lot of respect and when the old chief retired, he asked Sasuke to fill his place. I know that a lot of people were pissed since Sasuke is still new, but he's better than all of those officers in there, I can tell you that."

Sakura nodded her head slowly, not surprised that Sasuke had been at the top. He was always passing his classes without even trying to study. He was also the reason how Naruto managed to get where he is today.

"So, how are you and Sai?" Naruto asked and could have _sworn_ that Sakura had flinched from the name, but he had just assumed it was due to the large, black truck driving by that was too close to her driver's side.

"We're…good. He's working a lot from home now, and he's excited that I'm back from England to start working here. He also said he can't wait to see me working here as a doctor."

Naruto nodded his head and smiled at his little sister. He was honestly so proud that she had went and got her Doctorate in order for her to pursue her career. When she was in high school, she was taking so many college courses that by the time that she graduated, she was already considered a senior in college. She had gotten her Bachelor's just before he and Sasuke did, but she continued further to her Master's, and now Doctorate.

"So when do you start working at Konoha Hospital?"

Sakura smiled and switched on her signal as she pulled onto the road that led to their parent's house. "Tomorrow. I'm pretty excited. I have to start out as an intern, but I actually get to be Tsunade's instead of walking around with the other interns. She e-mailed me a month ago and flew over to England to have a discussion with me on it. She seems pretty excited to have me by her side."

"Now, Tsunade is the chief at the hospital, right?" Sakura nodded her head to Naruto's question and waited for the two vehicles on the left side to pass, before she then turned left into the driveway. Two vehicles were in their usual sports, so both siblings knew that their parents were home.

"Do mom and dad even know that you're here?" Naruto asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt, and when Sakura shook her head no, both siblings smirked.

"Oh, we so have to mess with them," said Sakura as she, too, unbuckled her belt. Naruto nodded his head in agreement as both siblings opened their doors, and closed them together. "I'll walk in and leave the door open so you can slip inside. You'll know when to come out and surprise them."

Sakura nodded her head to Naruto's plan and followed her older brother on the porch. As he slowly began to open the door, Sakura took the time to glance around her old house. It hadn't changed too much. It was still the same house with the black roof, grey siding, and lush, green grass that extended almost ten acres wide. The only thing that really changed was the new cherry trees that were planted alongside the driveway. It must have been her mother's doing.

When Naruto opened the door and stepped inside, Sakura quietly followed and barely closed the door. She listened as Naruto stepped into the kitchen and overheard the sound of her parents greeting the boy, following by a loud kiss to the boy's cheek from their mom.

"Have you all heard from Sakura?" She heard Naruto asked and she knew that that was her cue to slowly step towards the archway that led towards the kitchen.

"No, I haven't, sweetie," their mother began speaking. "Have you?"

"Actually," Sakura then interrupted the conversation and stepped into the kitchen. All three individuals glanced towards the girl and while they all smiled, both Minato and Kushina's grins were just a _tad_ bit bigger. "I have."

"Oh, my baby is home!" Kushina squealed and ran around the island in the kitchen, and engulfed Sakura in a tight embrace. Kushina's long, red hair began to mix with Sakura's long, pink hair as the two females hugged tightly. "How long have you been here?!"

Minato then rose from the barstool that he was sitting on, and walked over towards his youngest child. Kushina stepped to the side and Minato hugged the tiny girl tightly as a large smile was plastered across his face.

"I just got here about two hours ago. Naruto flew to England and I came back with him. My studies had just finished anyway."

"So that means that you have your Doctorate?" Minato asked as he gently gripped onto Sakura's shoulders, and when his daughter nodded her head, he smiled warmly at her. He was so proud of both of his children. They were both successful, smart, and had gone through hell and back just to get where they were today.

"Oh, sweetheart," Kushina began, "I'm so proud of you! So what does Sai think of this?" Again, Sakura slightly flinched and Naruto had caught it a second time. Only this time, there was no large, black truck driving next to her.

Why was she flinching?

"He's pretty happy. I start working with Tsunade tomorrow, so I'll only see him for a bit tonight."

Kushina grinned widely and gently grabbed Sakura's left hand, examining the beautiful ring on her daughter's hand. "Oh, I cannot wait for the wedding! It will be such a wonderful day!"

Sakura laughed and bit her bottom lip gently.

 _Oh, mother. How wrong you are…_

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

When Sasuke finally pulled into his parents' driveway, he was thirty minutes late. He groaned and closed his eyes as he could already imagine the scolding look his mother was going to give him.

It wasn't his fault though. Really.

He had managed to have Hayate confess early, but he had to deal with one of his officers being shot from a gang-related fiasco, followed by a drunk storming into the building and screaming about how cops were nothing but pigs.

Needless to say, he was late.

As he stepped out of his 2016 black Audi A6, he locked the vehicle and slowly walked up the stone steps that led to his parents' house. His old home had nothing but acres and acres of land, and in the middle of it all, was the large, stone building, with a black roof and beautiful garden that was his home.

Everyone's car was already here, so it was obvious that he was the last one to arrive.

 _Fuck me,_ he thought as he opened the door and instantaneously, a flash of black had jumped and leaped into the air. With Sasuke having quick reflexes, he caught the blur to what he now realized was his niece, Suki. The four-year old always kept Sasuke on his toes more than she did to her parents or grandparents.

"Uncle Sasuke!" The child beamed with excitement as she kissed her uncle's cheek and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Sasuke carried the girl into the dining room and watched as everyone's eyes were already on him.

"Grandma is mad," he heard Suki whisper, but Sasuke could have realized that even without the child saying anything. At the end of the table, next to his father, was his mother sitting in a chair with her black eyes staring right at him.

"You're late."

Sasuke sighed and slowly set Suki down and watched as she climbed back into what he assumed was her seat. "I know, I'm sorry. I had finished the interrogation early, but one of my men- Shino- had gotten shot, and some drunk stormed into the building. We had to arrest him and he wasn't too compliant on giving us any information."

Still, Mikoto stared Sasuke down and the twenty-five-year old sighed and walked over towards his mother. He kissed her head gently and sat in the empty seat between Suki (who he assumed made it to where Sasuke was sitting next to her), and his older brother, Itachi. Next to Itachi was his wife, Yumi, and across from them were the boys' parents.

As much as she wanted to be mad at her youngest, she could only smile as he still sat down and began to eat. He was always the late one, even when he was a kid. He always made sure that his tasks (whatever they had been) were done before he would leave them, and to this day, he still had not changed.

Mikoto only shook her head slowly in amusement as she, too, began to eat.

"So, I have to ask: Is Sakura back in town?" Itachi's sudden question caused everyone to pause what they were doing, excluding Suki, of course. She had only stopped eating due to the sudden quietness at the table.

Sasuke sighed and chewed the food in his mouth before he swallowed it quietly. "Yeah," he answered. "She just got back today."

Fugaku, Sasuke's dad, leaned back against his chair and sighed. The entire Uchiha family knew that both Sasuke and Sakura had dated. The family loved Sakura and enjoyed her presence; she had been the only girl that both Sasuke really loved, and was respectable around the family. A lot of the other girls were either obviously in it for the money, or for god-knows-what.

"Did she see you?" His father asked and when Sasuke nodded his head, it seemed as though the tension at the table grew worse. "She walked into the station to see Naruto. I guess he didn't tell her that I was chief, so when she saw me, she walked out. Naruto followed her out not too long later."

Mikoto sighed and slightly threw her napkin next to her glass plate full of food. She glanced to her youngest boy and stared at him. "Are you going to apologize to her for the pain that you had caused?"

"I already apologized, mother." Sasuke sighed and leaned against his chair just as his father done a few minutes before. "She just doesn't want to have any part of it. Besides, she's already engaged. Naruto said it was with someone named Sai."

Upon saying the name, Fugaki's eyebrows furrowed and he leaned close to the table. "Sai? Sai Akashi?" Sasuke glanced away from his mother, and now directed his attention towards his father. He knew her fiancé?

"Yeah. Do you know him?" Sasuke asked his father.

"Of him," he replied. "He has- or at least had- quite a reputation back in the day. He was pretty violent to a lot of people, and had one hell of a temper. He must have simmered down in order for Sakura and him to be together. I know well enough that both Minato and Naruto would not let Sakura be caught in an abusive relationship."

Sasuke made a faint 'hm' sound as he glanced back at his plate of barely uneaten food. Did Sakura even know about Sai's violent outbreaks in the past? And how serious had they even been? It seemed like Sasuke was going to have to do some digging on Sai.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

Sakura slowly unlocked the front door of her and Sai's apartment and quietly walked inside. The lights were off, so Sai was probably already asleep in their bedroom. Closing the door softly, Sakura set her keys on the dark wood coffee table to her left, slipped her shoes off, and walked towards the master bedroom.

As she opened the bedroom door, she could easily see Sai sleeping in the bed- at least she hoped. She walked to the right and headed towards the master bathroom that was attached to the bedroom. She then closed the door quietly and then flipped the light on, her reflection instantly staring back at her in the large mirror that hung over the sink.

Sakura reached into the drawer under the sink and pulled out the makeup remover wipes, gently setting them on the countertop. As she opened the package, her eyes found them slowly glancing towards the bedroom door. Sai was probably pretty exhausted. He had just visited her in England yesterday and flew home early this morning.

Turning back to face the mirror, Sakura picked up one of the white, wet wipes and began to rub her face gently. Ever so slowly, her clean, porcelain skin began to clear away, and the sight of dark welts began to appear. A recent bruise on her cheek shined brightly as her other bruises on her forehead and eye seemed to have simmered down a bit.

When she finished wiping her face, Sakura discarded the used wipes in the trash can to her right, and set the package back into its drawer. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and slowly pulled her black t-shirt down enough to where her cleavage came into view. A vicious bite mark and a mean looking bruise stared back at her in disgust.

Yeah…Sai was probably exhausted.


	3. Chapter Two

Flowers For a Broken Girl

Chapter Two

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author's Note:** Thank you again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows!

Rated M for possible violence and language.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

The sound of the alarm clock ringing at exactly three in the morning awoke Sasuke from his slumber. The tired male groaned and reached his right arm over towards the end table, firmly hitting the off switch and sighed as the sound of peace and quiet came. The silence was almost too good to fall back asleep in his nice, large, widespread king bed. But he had to get to work.

"Fuck," he groaned as he sat up slowly, his hands rubbing his face before combing his bedhead hair away from his eyes. It was still dark outside and the glow from the moon was the only light source for Sasuke to see into his large bedroom.

With a heavy groan, Sasuke swung his feet over and slowly rose up from his bed. He heard the sound of faint metal hitting against one another, and he knew that his dog had rose his head. His dog's tags were attached to the loop of his collar, so whenever he moved, the two objects would clash and create a sound.

"Let's go, Kane," said Sasuke as he opened his bedroom door and walked down the hall. The sound of metal clinking was enough to let Sasuke know that his dog was following close behind him. Sasuke strolled down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen, where he then opened the backdoor and waited for the dog to head outside, before he finally closed it.

Sasuke watched through the glass door as Kane sauntered over the grass and began to rub his nose in the dirt. Kane was a two-year-old Belgian Malinois with a mahogany coat. Kane came from a lineage of well-trained guard dogs and it just so happened that Sasuke had had Kane's father, Bruce, before he was shot and killed in a burglary.

That was only just a couple years ago.

As he began to think about his old dog, Sasuke found his eyes slowly glancing over to the large willow tree to the right of his yard. Underneath the tree was a tombstone that belonged to Bruce.

Clicking his tongue, Sasuke shook his head and started back up the stairs to get ready for the day. If he continued to think about the past like this, he was going to be late for work.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

"So, now that we're clear, you are not going to raise your tone to me anymore, right?"

Sakura could only nod her head as she felt the stream of tears pool down the sides of her face. The feeling of blood slowly running down her face was also prominent, but she couldn't get up to clean it- not yet, at least.

"Good."

Her cheek, lip, nose, and eye all hurt- basically, her entire body was in pain. She said nothing to Sai as he got dressed and slowly tightened his tie around his neck. Sakura still kept her head down and refused to make eye contact with him. She was so scared that if she did, he would come after her again.

The silence was overwhelming and Sakura was sure that she was going to go crazy if Sai would not hurry up and leave. She wanted to get up, take a shower, and feel…decent again.

"I'm leaving. Remember what we talked about," he said to her before he opened their bedroom door and walked towards the front door. He didn't even suggest it to her, he _ordered_ her to remember about not raising her voice and not mentioning this to anyone- not even her own family.

The sound of the front door opening and closing was enough to make Sakura gasp. She covered her eyes with her right hand and sobbed for the longest time until she could no longer cry.

When she was done and unable to produce more tears, Sakura glanced at the clock and saw that she still had enough time to get ready for work. Finding the strength to force herself to stand, Sakura gripped their queen-sized bed for support and winced at the feeling of the obvious new bruise on her hip.

 _Today is going to suck,_ she thought as she wobbled towards their master bathroom. Switching on the light, Sakura refused to glance to the right where the mirror was. She may have looked at herself last night, but she couldn't- not now, at least…

She switched on the water, stripped off her pajamas slowly, and stepped inside of the shower. As soon as she did, the water immediately changed its color to red as the showerhead began to rinse the blood off of Sakura's face and body.

Sakura stared at the dark red water that slowly departed down the drain and could only sigh, before finally beginning to wash her face, body, and hair.

When Sakura was finally finished, she switched off the water, pulled the curtain aside, and stepped out. Once she did, her reflection was instantly staring back at her, and the pink-haired girl wanted to break down and cry again. There was a purple circle on Sakura's eye where Sai's knuckle had punched her, a thin bruise on her cheek where Sai had slapped her, and a busted lip where Sai had done both. Her body was no different.

Sighing, Sakura grabbed the light pink towel and wrapped it around her battered body. She walked towards the mirror and sat down in the white vanity chair, pulling all of the makeup towards her. She began to dab the concealer everywhere on her face before she smeared it in gently. She had to apply at least five coats of both concealer and liquid foundation in order to hide the dark bruises on her face. Putting both items away, the pink-haired girl sighed and began to apply everything else.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

The chief of Konoha Police Department sighed as he leaned back in his black leather chair and stared at the computer screen.

 _Sai Akashi._

 _Age 27._

 _Vice President as Suna Inc._

 _Resides in downtown Konoha with fiancée, Haruno Uzumaki Sakura._

 _Has been arrested over fifteen times for assault, domestic violence, and battery._

 _Was accused of both murder and attempted murder._

Sasuke furrowed his brows as he stared at the words that were listed across Sai's background. Needless to say, Sai Akashi was someone who should _not_ be walking the streets, let alone be engaged to Sakura.

As he continued to stare at the screen, his officer door opened quickly and in came Kiba, panting heavily. "Some crazy loon just escaped the prison and now he's at the grocery store down a couple blocks."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he grabbed his gun from his drawer, and ran out of his office behind Kiba. All of the police offers were scattering to grab their vests, guns, keys, and anything they else that they think that they would need.

Sasuke ran out into the garage, headed towards his black squad car, and climbed inside of the vehicle. As he switched on the vehicle and quickly buckled himself into his seat, the sound of the receptionist was heard over the radio.

"10-18, suspect has possible hostages. Be on the lookout for a weapon."

Sasuke sighed heavily and grabbed the radio, before bringing it closer to his lips.

"10-4," he spoke before he set the radio back into place and pulled out of his parking spot. Sasuke then switched on the sirens and quickly sped off in the direction of where the grocery store was. The flashing lights of blue and red, and the ear-splitting sound of the sirens wailing were causing all of the vehicles to merge to the side as Sasuke was speeding at least thirty over.

When he just pulled onto the block of the grocery store, the sound of Kiba's voice rang through the radio.

"10-18, suspect has three hostages. Two of the hostages are grown women, and one is a young child."

Sasuke bit his tongue and gripped the leather steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning a violent shade of white. He continued to weave throughout the vehicles before the flashing lights of the other squad cars came into view.

Sasuke quickly parked his car next to Kiba's, switched his sirens off, and unbuckled his seatbelt. With a heavy sigh, he stepped out of his vehicle and grabbed his bulletproof vest that was sitting in the passenger seat. As he began to fasten it on his body, Kiba ran up to him swiftly.

"So, the guy just let out the two women, but he still has that kid in there. The two women think that the kid is hiding and that the guy doesn't even know the kid's in there yet."

With one last check on his vest, Sasuke gave out a quick scoff and walked towards the other officers. "For his sake," he began to speak. "He better know that he isn't in there."

It wasn't uncommon to have hostages at many altercations, but it was the children that were pretty rare to see be held at gun point, or even forced to sit in a certain spot while the crazy loon would banter back and forth to the cops.

The other officers turned their heads when they heard heavy footsteps approaching, and when they saw that it was the chief, they straightened their posture. "Kiba already informed me that the kid is in there. What is his name?"

Whenever Sasuke would have to encounter a child in a hostage predicament, he always wanted to know their names so it would help ease their stress and fear.

"Taichi," responded another officer, Shikamaru Nara. He was rather tall- a bit less than Sasuke- and had dark, black hair that he always kept up in a tight ponytail. He was married to a woman named Temari, and had a daughter named Shikadai. She was the spitting image of Shikamaru- personality _and_ appearance.

Sasuke nodded his head and observed the surroundings of the grocery store. There were no cameras, so Sasuke and his unit would be able to surround the building freely without having to worry about the suspect watching their motive. That had happened almost a year ago. A hidden camera was placed on a bank that had been failed to mention to Sasuke. So when he and his unit had circled the building, the suspect already knew their plans, and had begun to fire at them. Thankfully, no one was wounded _or_ killed.

Sasuke looked away from the building and down at his men. "Alright, our main objective right now is to get Taichi out of there. As soon as he is with one of us, _then_ and only then do we get this bastard. Understood?" When everyone nodded their heads, Sasuke began to explain the plan on what to do and how to get the kid out of there.

"Shino, Neji, and Kiba. You guys take the front. Lee and Chouji, you guys take the side, and Shikamaru and I will take the back."

All of them then disbanded and quickly went into their assigned positions that Sasuke had ordered. With their guns out and backs bent, Sasuke and Shikamaru slowly headed towards the back and very faintly did Sasuke begin to hear the sound of a child's cries. Sasuke turned to Shikamaru and the man nodded his head, confirming that he, too, heard the cries.

Sasuke carefully stepped aside the broken glass, discarded cigarettes, and occasional sticks. The last thing that he needed was for the suspect to hear them. The guy would go crazy and possibly find the kid and kill him.

When a window came into view in the back, Sasuke straightened his back and peered into it. He could instantly make out the young boy sitting underneath the table with his hands covering his ears and eyes closed. He had short, black hair and did not seem to be any older than Suki. A pang struck through Sasuke as he thought of Suki even being in the boy's position.

He would kill the son of a bitch who would have been causing it.

Sasuke then signaled for Shikamaru to follow him as he headed towards the back door. From the door, Sasuke could see the suspect sitting by the counter, staring out of the front at all of the police cars. He was not holding a gun, but he could have easily set it down or be holding a knife.

Sasuke slowly opened the backdoor and was _so_ thankful that it didn't squeak. Sasuke pushed the door further open so both he and Shikamaru could slip inside. Taichi slowly opened his eyes and when he saw two more men with guns, tears weld up in his eyes. Sasuke shook his head and held a finger to his lips as he quietly stalked towards the boy.

When Taichi saw the police badge on Sasuke's vest, the tears fell out of the boy's eyes and he quickly jumped into Sasuke's arms. Standing up slowly, Sasuke turned to Shikamaru and quietly handed the boy to him. With the boy's arms and legs tightly wrapped around him, Shikamaru walked out of the store and headed back towards the front.

When the two were out of the clear, Sasuke turned back in the direction where the suspect was.

But he was gone.

Immediately, Sasuke went to reach for his gun, but a violent blow was struck to his head and Sasuke found himself falling to the cold, concrete floor. Sasuke hissed as he glanced up and saw the suspect holding a long, wooden board in his hand.

The suspect was wearing the orange clothing that a prisoner would usually wear. He seemed a bit smaller than Sasuke, had a scruffy beard, blonde hair, and had missing teeth. As Sasuke continued to stare at the suspect, his left hand was slowly searching for his gun that had fallen out of his grip. He didn't want to take his eyes off of the suspect, even for a split second to see where his gun had fallen.

The feeling of something trickling down the left side of his face was enough to let Sasuke know that he was bleeding, and very badly, too.

"I fucking knew," the suspect began to speak. His voice was rough and scratchy. "That when all of the cars were there, but no cops were around that you bastards were searching the place. Then, I turn around and the back door was opened with one of you guys carrying some kid out. Guess I missed the little fucker."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the choice of words the suspect was using to address the kid. The suspect then started towards Sasuke, the board now raised high in the air. With his eyes wide and adrenaline pumping through his body, Sasuke swiped the suspect's legs. When the suspect fell to his ass, Sasuke looked to his left and saw his gun by the doorway.

He jumped to his feet, grabbed the gun, and whirled around to face the suspect that was charging at him with the board raised again. Shots from his gun fired twice and that was enough for the man to drop to the floor. Sasuke watched, with his gun still pointed at him, as the man fell to the floor and the board fell to the side of him. The man was not moving and a pool of blood was slowly seeping his way out of his body.

Instantaneously, all of the police officers slammed into the grocery story, their guns drawn. When they saw the suspect on the floor dead, they turned their attention to the wounded chief. Shikamaru walked towards him with a solemn look and Sasuke shook his head slowly before speaking. "I'm fine, and don't start feeling guilty on me. You and I didn't see the man move. If anything, I should have turned on the guy sooner."

"You need to go to the hospital," replied Shikamaru. Usually, Sasuke bicker about how he didn't need a hospital, but he was pretty sure that the suspect had gotten his head pretty good. There was no doubt that he needed stitches, but he was unsure of how many.

"I'll drive you," said Shikamaru again as he placed his gun back into its holster and headed outside towards his squad car, his back turning one more time to face the others. "Neji, since you road with Lee, you'll have to take the Chief's car back. Kiba and Shino, you guys take care of the body and wait for the crime scene investigators to show." With that, he finally turned on his heels and sauntered towards his car.

Sasuke smirked and turned to the others and nodded his head slowly. "Do what he says," he ordered before he walked after Shikamaru. Climbing inside the other's squad car, Sasuke buckled his seatbelt and sighed.

"Here." Shikamaru handed the other some paper towels to hold onto his head to help stop the bleeding. Sasuke smirked, thanked the other, and pressed the paper towels onto his head firmly. When Sasuke wined, he was sure that the cut was pretty deep in his head. As Shikamaru quickly drove to the hospital, Sasuke took this time to glance around Shikamaru's squad car.

It was clean, organized, and smelled like baby wipes. Sasuke smirked at the smell and was sure it was because of Shikamaru's daughter. There was no doubt that ever since she was born, Shikamaru had changed and become more of a tidy person.

 _I guess being a parent changes you,_ thought Sasuke.

Sasuke always wanted to settle down, get married, and start a family of his own. The only problem was to actually find someone who loved Sasuke for him, and not for his looks, wealth, or even his last name. Sasuke had had many girlfriends, but after Sakura, he hadn't had any.

 _Sakura._

Sighing heavily, Sasuke closed his eyes when he realized that they were heading towards the hospital where Sakura was working. If she were to be assigned to work with him, it would definitely make things awkward and uncomfortable.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

For the first day of her new job, Sakura was having a pretty good day so far. Since Tsunade had already discussed the job with Sakura beforehand, and she knows that she has a Doctorate, she allowed the pink-haired girl to start on her own. Of course, Sakura was surprised out the ass upon hearing this, but she gladly took it and went on to her own patients.

As she walked in the long hallway, the sound of her heels clicking against the tile floor were prominent. Many of the interns were glaring at the pink-haired girl with the white jacket draped around her shoulders. Sakura wasn't even supposed to have the jacket until a year in, but here she was, on her first day with her own patients _and_ her own jacket with her name on it.

Yeah, the interns were pissed.

"Dr. Haruno!" Sakura whirled her body around to the sound of the voice. Her long, healthy pink hair flew with her body before it quickly grazed back to her behind where it was before. A nurse was running up to Sakura with speed, her face flushed and a folder in her hands.

"A police officer just came in the building. He was smashed in the head by a wooden board and he's bleeding pretty bad."

Sakura quickly took the files from the nurse's hands and thanked her. "What room is he in now?"

"13, Dr. Haruno."

Sakura quickly walked in the opposite direction from which she came from until she was standing before the door with the number _13_ on it. She opened the folder in her hands, knocked twice on the door, and opened it slowly before glancing down at the folder.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Haruno, and I will be attending your wounds, Mr…" Sakura's voice trailed off as her hands gripped the folder tightly, her eyes widening as she read over the name over and over again. She was praying that it was someone else and not _him._

 _Sasuke Uchiha._


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Author's Note:** Thank you again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows!

I am going to go ahead and say that I am **declaring all of the (future) chapters to be Rated M** just to be safe. This chapter is very dark. Viewer discretion is advised.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

Sakura was one-hundred percent sure that someone above either hated her, or was not too happy with her at the moment. Standing in front of her with his hand on his head to stop the bleeding was Uchiha Sasuke himself. As she stared at him with a shocked look, he did not smile, laugh, or even smirk- he just stared at her.

As Sasuke continued to sit on the bed, Sakura finally closed her shocked mouth and stepped into the room. She closed the door slowly and felt her soul leave her body at the sound of it clicking shut.

She turned back to Sasuke and slowly placed the folders on the counter to her left. "So…you got hit with a wooden board?" Sakura asked as she turned her back on Sasuke and began to wash her hands in the sink. If she was going to have to care for him, she might as hell make it less awkward than what it already was going to be.

She heard Sasuke sigh and grunt as the sound of the bed shifting was overheard. He had probably pressed too hard on his head when adjusting and had hurt himself. "Yeah," he retorted. "There was some loon that escaped the prison and took these two women and a child hostage in the grocery store."

Sakura widened her eyes at his words and found herself whirling around to face him. She saw Sasuke's eyes widen from both her sudden movement, and her pink hair flying through the air violently. "Is the child okay?"

She saw Sasuke's soften and that let her know that he remembered how much she loved kids. She had always told him and Naruto back in the day that she wanted to have at least three kids. Of course, being the older brother, Naruto always shook his head and gloated on something about her never growing up and never being allowed to marry someone.

Thinking about Naruto always telling Sakura these types of things in the past had caused a faint smile to kiss her lips, but it quickly vanished when she realized who she was standing in front of.

"They're fine," replied Sasuke and Sakura mentally let out a relieved sigh. Sakura did not say anything else as she slowly slipped her hands into a blue glove. She walked close to Sasuke and it almost seemed that the closer she was to him, the more she wanted to cry, or even run away.

"Let me see the damage," she said to him as she removed the gauze from his head and peered down at his wound. It was pretty deep, but thankfully it wasn't too far into his skull where it would have been considered severe or near-death related. He would need some stitches, however.

"You're going to need about eight stitches. I'm going to give you a shot to help-"

"Don't bother," interrupted Sasuke. "You know as well as I do that those shots do not work on me."

 _That's right,_ thought Sakura as she faintly remembered Naruto and her driving to the hospital one day after Sasuke had gotten in a wreck from his street bike. Someone had drove through a red light and had hit Sasuke head-on. Sasuke was bleeding from head to toe and despite everything that the doctors tried, no shots or medicine helped dull the pain for the boy's body. Still, as they were stitching him up, he made no sound or cried.

"Okay. I'll just start stitching your head up then," she replied before she walked towards the cabinets and began to gather everything that she would need to either cleanse or stitch his wound. "This may hurt," she said as she brought some clear liquid close to him.

She watched as Sasuke narrowed his eyes, knowing damn well that it _will_ hurt. Sakura dabbed the liquid on a clean gauze and gently began to cleanse his wound, nearly wincing as she heard the man in front of her hiss in pain. She muttered a faint apology before she began to stitch his head up carefully.

"Itachi had a child," he said out of the blue and Sakura had even stopped her work for a moment. Mostly because of what he said. Itachi had a child? That almost sounded like a lie. Itachi was well-known for not wanting to be married _or_ have kids when he was younger.

"Is he with the mother?" When Sasuke nodded his head to her question, Sakura was sure that this was nowhere near the same Itachi she had known in the past.

"He's married to her, actually. I've never seen the idiot so happier in my life. They had a little four-year-old girl. Suki." As he was saying these words to her, he was fishing into his left pocket and slowly pulling out his black Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. As Sakura continued to work on his head, Sasuke unlocked his phone and browsed through his gallery before he found a photo of Suki clinging onto Kane.

Sakura glanced past his head and smiled when she saw the photo. "God, she looks just like an Uchiha. She's got the black hair, black eyes, and even the fair skin." As she continued to stare at the beautiful, little girl, Sakura found herself glancing over at the dog that Suki was hanging onto.

"Bruce looks like he hadn't aged a day."

Sakura looked back at Sasuke's head to continue her work, but stopped when she noticed Sasuke's body tensing. She knew something was off.

"That's actually his son, Kane," he replied, his voice solemn and soft. "Bruce…died almost three years ago. Someone broke in my house and they shot him when they ran off."

Sakura widened her eyes and had almost felt her body crashing to the ground. Bruce was dead? The dog that had saved her life countless of times? The dog that would lick her face when she came over, until it was covered in slobber…was dead?

"D-did you ever find out who did it?" She asked and instantly became _pissed_ when Sasuke shook his head. Sakura knew that Bruce was his favorite and only pet growing up, and to hear about him dying from someone breaking into his house infuriated her to no end.

"What the fuck did they break into your house for?" She began working on his head and slowly stitched the sixth stitch in.

"The only thing that was gone was the white gold bracelet that was passed down in the Uchiha family for the women."

Sakura paused for a moment, thinking of the item that he was talking about. Then, she remembered being at the Uchiha residence when she was young and Mikoto showing her the beautiful bracelet. "This will be yours someday, dear," is what Mikoto had always said to her. Little to their knowledge, did they ever think that Sasuke and Sakura would no longer be a pair. The bracelet was always said to be worth of a million dollars because of how many diamonds were in it, _and_ how old it was.

"Bastard," she hissed under her breath and could have sworn that she heard Sasuke chuckle. "So, how old is Kane?" She decided it would be better to change the subject instead of staying fumed like she was now.

"He just turned two. He was almost one when the burglar had broken in. I was actually out with Kane for his protection classes when it had happened. Something had told me that day to bring Bruce, but I didn't."

Sakura furrowed her brows as she stitched the last stitch in. Sighing, she ripped the gloves off of her hands and discarded them in the waste bin. "It wasn't your fault. Quit blaming yourself," she said as she began to clean everything else up.

"It almost seems like everything is my fault these days. My dog's death, the bracelet missing, us…"

Sakura widened her eyes and turned to look as Sasuke who was now staring at her. He had no emotion on his face, but Sakura's held a mixture of anger and pain.

"Don't even dare bring up the past," she spat at him as she grabbed the folders that were on the counter. "I am working right now. I have a fiancé, a wonderful job, and the last thing that I need is for you to come and fuck it up."

Sasuke slowly stood up and took once step towards her. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and took one step back. "We need to talk about this one day, you know that. Damn it, Sakura! I told you that I was sorry!" Sasuke's voice wasn't loud, but it was definitely stern.

"And I told you to not bring the past up, Sasuke! It was your actions that caused us to break up, and it was _your_ actions that had caused all of this crap! You were the one who had ditched me on our date, just so you could go and fuck some other girl!"

Sakura's face was red with anger and Sasuke just stood there emotionless, and that pissed her off even more. He was staring at her like it was _her_ fault! "I told you that I was sorry," he muttered softly as he continued to stare at her.

"And I am telling you now to fuck off and leave me alone!" Sakura whirled her body, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway. The sound of the door slamming shut hard was enough for Sasuke to wince slightly.

 **Sasuke**

He didn't blame her that she was pissed. Hell, he would have been acting the same way if the tables were turned. To this day, he still has no logical explanation for his actions except that he was a fucking idiot, who thought the college girl with big boobs was hot enough to cause his manhood to arise.

With a heavy sigh, Sasuke shook his head and opened the hallway door. It was obvious that the entire faculty had heard their commotion, because as soon as he stepped out, everyone's head had turned to see who was in the other room. When they had noticed that it was the chief, a few eyes widened, and whispers began.

Sasuke mumbled a few incoherent curse words under his breath and walked towards the elevator. Neji had sent him a text earlier, explaining that he and Kiba had dropped off his squad car at the hospital. As much as they all aggravated the piss out of him sometimes, Sasuke was pretty thankful for them all. They saved his ass many times, as he had done to them.

As Sasuke exited the elevator and stepped onto the main lobby, he found his eyes slowly searching around for a pink-haired doctor that would probably be punching a wall in knowing how pissed she was. When he saw no sign of her, Sasuke exited the main hospital doors and walked to his squad car that was parked in the front. Climbing inside of the vehicle, Sasuke yawned and buckled himself up slowly, before he starting the ignition.

As he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards his house, Sasuke leaned his head against his left hand on the window, and used his right hand on the steering wheel to guide the car. He slowly found himself smirking as he remembered how much of a spitfire Sakura was when she was young. He was only four years older than her, but there were definitely some days in the past where he could have sworn that _she_ was the older one.

Sakura was always the problem solver with words, while Sasuke was a problem solver with his fists. Sasuke remembered some guy (who was clearly from out of town) passing Sakura and giving her a heavy smack on the ass. Not even an hour later was the man in the hospital nearly dead, and Sasuke being lectured by a fuming pink-haired girl. Because of how beautiful she was, there were many occasions where Sasuke had gotten into fists fights.

Sasuke chuckled to himself as he even remembered how he had asked the girl to be his girlfriend, and how she had responded. Sasuke had been planning on asking Sakura to be his girlfriend for months, but between school, family, and an annoying Naruto popping up, there was never a good time to ask her. So, when Sasuke was able to be alone with her for once, he took her on the lake to go canoeing. With the sound of the birds chirping, the sky being bright blue, and the water clear as ever, he had asked her right then and there.

Of course, after minutes of crying and screaming, she had said yes. Sakura was always a crier, and he was sure that she still was. The two had gone to the pound one day to look at a kitten, and Sakura hadn't even been in the building for five minutes before her green eyes were erupting tears down her face. Sasuke had taken her out for ice-cream that day so she would calm down; he always hated seeing her cry.

Sasuke sighed and bit his bottom lip gently as he stared at the road in front of his car. He hated making her cry, but yet, he had gone and broken her heart. It was the day of her birthday, too. Sasuke had promised her a night out in the city like Sakura had always wanted. Well, thirty missed calls and sixty messages later, Sasuke was back home explaining to Sakura what he had done. There was crying, screaming, hitting (mostly Sakura doing the hitting), and silence before a faint "we're through" was heard.

Sasuke had gone through hell after that. Sure, he had graduated academy and was beginning to work at the station, but he didn't have Sakura to support him by his side. She had flown aboard to Ireland to study. Hell, Naruto wasn't even around that much either. He was off to college and was probably settling down with his now wife, Hinata.

As Sasuke pulled onto his longer driveway, the view of his large, white house with many windows came into view. On the right was his house, and on the left was the large lake that he owned along with it. Sasuke had bought the house just two years ago and still has yet to grow old of it. With him living so far from everyone, and living so close to the wilderness, he would always see different animals everyday ranging from deer, to foxes, to beavers.

Parking his squad car next to his Audi, Sasuke switched off the ignition and stepped out of the vehicle. Instantly, the smell of fresh, open air filled his nose, and the sound of running water from both the lake and creek became prominent to his ears. Sasuke could already hear Kane barking from the house and he took that as a cue to go ahead and let the dog out. Stepping onto his wooden porch, Sasuke opened the door and greeted the dog with a pat to the head, before watching as the dog ran off into the woods to empty his bladder.

As he waited for Kane to come back, Sasuke sat in one of the wooden rocking chairs and stared at the beautiful lake in front of him. Ironically, having a house that faces a lake was one of Sakura's dreams when she was younger. Whether it was the same or had changed, Sasuke didn't know.

Sasuke stared at all of the trees that were surrounding his house and noticed how some of them were beginning to fade from green, to either yellow, orange, or brown. Even though it was still hot on many days, and rained occasionally on some, Sasuke knew that it would be winter soon.

And that meant Christmas shopping.

Sasuke was one of the many few people out there in the world that absolutely _hated_ Christmas shopping. Spending money wasn't the issue for him, it was what to buy for people that was. Suki was pretty easy for the moment. If it was pink, a Barbie, or even a doll house, she was pretty contempt. Itachi, his mother, and father, on the other hand, were difficult. His parents were always buying for each other, as well as Yumi and Itachi.

Should he just opt out on buying people, besides Suki, presents this year? It almost seemed like the better thing to do anymore. He didn't have a significant other to get presents for. All he really had was his niece.

The sound of heavy panting caused Sasuke to glance over towards the right. Kane sat there, tongue hanging out, and chest heaving as he panted heavily. _He must have been chasing something,_ Sasuke thought as he rose from the chair. He opened the door to his house and stepped inside with Kane right on his tail. As he closed the door shut, Sasuke heard the dog frantically run into the kitchen where he began to practically inhale his water from the dog bowl.

Sasuke chuckled and slipped out of his light jacket, and hung it on the white coat rack that was nailed to the wail. A shower sounded nice, but with the stitches in his head, he couldn't wash his hair. A groan left the man's lips as he realized he could only scrub his body and not his hair, too.

 **Sakura**

Sakura sighed as she walked into her apartment after a long, and very, stressful day at work. Between the other interns glaring at her right left and right, to the Uchiha coming into her work and the two of them practically screaming at each other. The second that the chief had left the building, questions instantly swarmed at Sakura like a bat-out-of-hell, but she paid no mind to them.

Sakura slipped off her nude heels and placed her keys on the same table as yesterday. Her white coat was in her locker at the hospital, so thankfully, she did not have to bring it home. If it ever got dirty, the staff would just give her a new one and wash the old one.

Sakura glanced up and peered at the clocking, feeling a sudden uneasiness as she realized Sai would be getting off work soon. If he came home to no food at the table, he would surely be pissed. Quickly thinking of something good to put together, Sakura headed towards the kitchen and opened the fridge and freezer. She grabbed a little bit of everything before she swiftly filled some pots with water and placed them on the stove. With the water heating up, and an idea of what to cook in her head, it would be ready just in time for Sai to arrive home.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Five hours.

That's how long Sakura has been sitting at the dining room table, food untouched as she waited for Sai. He was usually home just after 5:00, so with it almost hitting 10:00, Sakura was growing curious on where the man could be. With her pondering in thought, the sound of the front door opening caught Sakura's attention, and she instantly rose to her feet. She walked towards the door and saw Sai drunkenly walk inside. His hair was tousled, his tie was gone, and his clothes were wrinkled.

But none of that really mattered to Sakura, not even the fact that he was obviously plastered from alcohol.

What mattered was the pink lipstick stains on his clothes and face.

 _He was cheating,_ she realized. _That_ was why he was taking so long. He wasn't just having a drink with some co-workers, he was fucking some other girl, too.

Sakura watched as Sai made no contact with her, or even said a word, as he stumbled to their bedroom. She watched as he slammed the door shut, and that sound was enough to make the girl broil.

She had slaved herself on cooking, doing the damned dishes, and even waiting on his pathetic ass to come home! She had even started to think that he was _hurt,_ or in trouble!

Sakura clenched her hands into a fist as she stormed into their bedroom, her body practically slamming through the white door as she ripped it open. The second that she stepped in the door, Sai turned (and nearly tripped on doing so) and looked at the girl with a glare.

"What?"

 _What? What?!_

Sakura _swore_ that she saw red then. "I fucking cooked the second that I got home from work, waited on you, and received no call or anything, only for you to show up four hours later reeking of alcohol, sex, and cheap perfume! You even have a damn lipstick stain on both your clothes and body? That's what!"

Sai stared at the girl for a couple more seconds before he scoffed, rolled his eyes, and turned back around as he muttered something about Sakura being a 'drama queen'.

"You're cheating on me, and yet I am here being fucking faithful to you as ever! You're a lowlife prick!"

It all happened so fast.

One second she was staring Sai right in the eye, the next, she was slammed against the ground with a tight grip around her throat.

Sakura gasped for air and clawed Sai's hands as she struggled to get the slightest bit of air. He was literally trying to kill her!

"I'm a lowlife prick!?" He began shouting and Sakura felt tears prick her eyes from both fear and lack of oxygen. She was so pissed and riled-up, that she had forgotten entirely on the power that he holds on her.

The grip tightened on her neck and Sakura felt the tears pool down her face.

"So what if I was cheating on you? What are you going to do? Leave me?!" Sai laughed darkly and released the grip on the girl's throat, but seconds later had a new hold on her hair. Sakura screamed and thrashed around as she was thrown onto the bed like a rag doll.

Sai instantly pinned the girl to his bed with his weight and stared down at her. "You forget something, Sakura. I _own_ you! I took everything that you have ever had, and if you leave me, you bet your ass that you will have _nothing!_ Your car will be mine, your job will be mine, and this damn apartment will be mine."

Sai leaned closer to Sakura and smirked. The girl could feel the bile in her stomach rising up at the smell of what seemed to be Fireball Cinnamon Whisky on his breath. "You are not leaving me, sweet cheeks," he began to speak before an evil smirk kissed his lips. "I will make sure of that."

Despite the drunken state that he was in, Sai continued to hold the girl down as he practically ripped the girl's outfit off, along with her undergarments. Sakura struggled and fought against her fiancée, but that did not stop the man from holding her down, soon covering her mouth, and taking her again, and again, and again that night.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

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 **Author's Note:** Thank you again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows! It really does mean a lot, believe me!

Before I get to writing chapter four, I would like to address something that has come to the surface within the past two chapters. Many of you are wondering why Sakura has not left Sai, told anyone, or anything between. Keep in mind that with this being an AU (Alternate Universe) fanfic, Sakura does not have the strength that she normally would to beat the living hell out of him. If she did, he would be dead. Sai is a very well-known individual and with him being where he is, he has power from out the behind to do as he sees fit. She does not want to leave Sai, because she believes that she _loves_ him. She also fears that if she leaves him, that he will either kill her, or bring her back to him. I have been in an abusive relationship and I can say that relationships like that are pretty hard to just walk right out of. If you are still confused, mention so in the review, and I can easily give you a description of what had happened with me.

Their relationship will surely change in the story, but I want to build up to that point slowly. I do not want to rush things and end up finishing the story on, for example, chapter ten. This story is also angst, so there are going to be many dark features in this story. That is why I included that in the genre of the story.

One last thing, I made a Tumblr page for this fanfiction account. There, you can see me share some Sasuke and Sakura related things, or ask me some questions. The link to the account is in my bio.

Love you guys!

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 **Sasuke**

Sasuke sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose in his left hand, while his right held his cellphone towards his ear. His mother was currently going on about how she wanted to have a get-together for Naruto's birthday that was coming up _way_ too soon. It had been almost a month since Sakura had arrived back in Konoha, and Mikoto had not once grew quite about seeing the grown, pink-haired woman again. "I want her there for the party," she exclaimed over the phone for the tenth time, and it took every bone in Sasuke's body to not just end the call right there.

"I'll try, mother. I don't know if Sakura works that day. She's a doctor now, so-"

"I already talked to Tsunade. She is going to be off."

 _Damn woman,_ he cursed in his head before he sighed heavily. "Okay, mom. I'll see what I can do." With that, he said her loved her, said his goodbye, and hung up the phone. Sasuke groaned as he leaned against his black, leather chair and closed his eyes for a split second, before reopening them to stare at the monthly calendar on his desk.

 _October 10th. Idiot's birthday._

Sasuke never understood why his mother always wanted a get-together for birthdays or holidays; he also never understood why she called them just a "get-together" when half of the town practically showed at their estate. Naruto's birthday was this Saturday, and there was no doubt that his mother wanted the entire Uzumaki family there at the Uchiha estate to celebrate.

That included Sakura.

He was sure that the pink-haired girl would probably not go, and instead, celebrate Naruto's birthday with him by taking him to a nice dinner. Then again, Sakura always did enjoy talking to Mikoto, and even if his father didn't say it, Sasuke knew that Fugaku cherished Sakura like she was one of his own. That was one of the reasons why Sasuke was sure why his parents never forgave him for treating Sakura the way he had done.

How did his mother even expect him to contact Sakura? He didn't even know where she lived, let alone, know her number or anything of the sort. Sure, he could go to the Uzumaki household, but seeing Minato would be the last thing that he wanted. He never saw that man so pissed off before until his daughter had come home in tears because of _him._ Sasuke was sure that he, too, still did not forgive Sasuke. The only person who really did was Naruto…

Sasuke glanced at his computer screen to see what time it was. _4:53 PM._

The black-haired man had about seven more minutes before his shift was considered done. Of course, being a chief he was never off the clock. If something serious was to occur in the middle of the night, Sasuke always had to attend to it. Shutting off his computer slowly, Sasuke grabbed his light, black jacket that rested on the chair in front of his desk. It was already getting nippy in the mornings more than he would had liked, so having a jacket with him was essential.

As he stepped out into the parking lot where his squad car was, Sasuke climbed in as usual and started the ignition. He glanced towards the dashboard and decided that coffee from a local café sounded pretty good right now.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

Sakura sighed as she pulled her pink bangs out of her face and read over the charts one last time. She was supposed to leave the hospital over an hour ago, but she still had some paperwork to fill out, and that was causing her stay over a bit. She glanced up from where she was standing and glanced at the clock. _5:15 PM._

She was supposed to meet with her folks and Naruto for a nice dinner, but at this rate, she was never going to get to go. She still had to go home, shower, re-apply some makeup, and then finally head out. Thinking about makeup had caused Sakura to secretly glance down towards her right wrist. Sai had gripped it too hard last night, and even though she had applied coats of concealer, she had frequently washed her hands today, so the hue of the purple and green was beginning to appear.

"What are you doing here still?"

Sakura jumped from the sudden voice and whirled her body to come face-to-face with Tsunade. The older woman bit back from the laughter that was trying to come out when she noticed the girl's reaction. Sakura laughed softly and raised the stack of papers slightly.

"I'm not finished yet," she replied as she somewhat leaned against the counter. Over the few weeks of being here, Tsunade had really been helpful to the pink-haired girl. She was so sincere and caring, and quite frankly, she really enjoyed the older woman's presence.

"Aren't you supposed to meet your parents and Naruto for dinner?" Tsunade had grown up with Minato, so the two were quite close. Kushina and Minato had always visited Tsunade in the past, but with the blonde-haired woman being the chief of the hospital, it was really hard to have a talk anymore.

"Yeah, but…" Sakura's words trailed off as she, again, raised the stack of papers. Tsunade sighed and reached her hand out, gently grasping the papers in her hand before she read over them.

"Go ahead and go, Sakura. Your shift was over an hour ago anyway." Sakura widened her eyes slightly and opened her mouth to voice her opinion, but Tsunade raised her hand.

"Go," she repeated, only this time, more sternly.

Sakura knew that talking was pointless, so she just smiled and thanked the woman. Sakura turned on her heels and walked towards the back room where all of the staff kept their belongings. As she unlocked her locker, Sakura quickly discarded the white coat and exchanged it for her long-sleeved, cream jacket. The pink-haired girl then grabbed her grey bag and closed her locker shut, before leaving the room and starting down the hall.

Stepping into the elevator, Sakura slowly ushered the jacket on since she knew that it was pretty nippy outside. She absolutely hated when the weather changed, because she always got sicker than a dog. She remember one time when she and Sasuke had gone out for New Year's Eve to look at Christmas lights and not even a couple days later, Sakura was sneezing, coughing, and running a very high fever.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh at the memory and before she could think about anymore, the elevator doors open and she stepped out. Sakura walked out the hospital front doors and started towards her car, but not before looking down at her phone.

 _5:29 PM._

 _Coffee sounds pretty good,_ Sakura realized as she still had plenty of time to get ready for tonight.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

Sasuke sighed as he blew on his hot coffee as he waited for his food to be done. The café wasn't too busy right now, but it wasn't too dead, either. It was just enough for the wait not to be awkward, but also not annoying. Sasuke glanced down at his phone and saw that it was almost 6:00. He had been waiting for his damn food for thirty minutes. What in the hell was taking so long?

As he pondered in thought, the sound of the café door opening was heard, but Sasuke paid no mind to it. He usually never did, anyway. It was probably just a normal person here to get either coffee, food, or doughnuts.

"Yes, can I please get a medium French vanilla iced-coffee?"

Immediately, Sasuke furrowed his brows and whirled his head towards the cash register and nearly fainted when he noticed the pink hair. There was no doubt that it was Sakura, of course. She was the only girl in town with pink hair.

With her back turned to him, Sasuke took this chance to stare at her curves and features. Her hair was currently pulled into a ponytail and instead of her hair being straight like usual, the end of the ponytail was curled. She had probably curled her heir and then put it in a ponytail, he realized. Sakura was currently wearing am ash-grey dress that extended towards her knees, which also showed _a lot_ of her curves. Her nude heels weren't too tall, then again, Sakura never did go _too_ crazy with heels. Sasuke could easily see the matching ash-grey purse in her hand, a cream jacket against her arms, and a gold bracelet attached to her left wrist.

God, she was so beautiful.

Sakura then turned her body and when she saw the Uchiha staring at her, her posture instantly became tense as she walked towards the other side to wait for her coffee. She had no choice but to stand near Sasuke as he, too, seemed to be waiting for something.

"You still order the same coffee," said Sasuke as he raised his coffee to his lips, smirking slightly when he saw a faint blush kiss her cheeks. She was always so easy to blush.

"And you probably order the same nasty stuff," she replied and Sasuke quirked a brow at her.

"Nasty stuff? You mean my _hot_ coffee that normal people when it's chilly out?" He saw the girl roll her eyes and he, again, smirked.

"My coffee is just as good as yours," responded Sakura as she glanced to her right for a brief second. Sasuke raised a brow slightly when it seemed that she was worried about something. Was she in trouble or some sort?

"You look nice," said Sasuke suddenly and the black-haired male widened his eyes at his words. Of course, the woman _did_ look nice, but his brain was not planning on saying that! He had been thinking about coffee in his head, not her looks! Damn his mouth for berating him!

Sakura widened her eyes and glanced up to Sasuke. She didn't say anything for a while, but the obvious red cheeks was enough to let Sasuke know that she was flattered. "Thanks," she finally said with a laugh. Sasuke watched as she filled with the buckle of her purse, and as he continued to watch her, he suddenly remembered something.

"Ah!" Sakura glanced up at Sasuke with surprised eyes. "Are you coming over to the estate for Naruto's birthday party?" Sasuke instantly saw the girl become tense at his question, and he knew by that posture, that she was bound to say no.

"My mother is really wanting to see you," he quickly added and he noticed a change of demeanor in Sakura. "My father and Itachi are, too. And I'm sure that Suki would love to meet you." Sakura bit her bottom lip slightly and Sasuke suddenly found himself thinking about all of those times when he had kissed those rosy, pink lips of hers. He was the one who was her first kiss. God, he was the first for her _everything_. He was her first kiss, first boyfriend, first person having sex with, and _so_ much more.

And Sasuke ruined it all.

"I'll come," she said suddenly and it brought Sasuke out of his trance. He stared at the girl, surprised at her words. She was agreeing that easy?

"Really?" He asked just to make sure, and when she nodded her head, Sasuke found himself slightly smiling like an idiot. It had been forever since the pink-haired girl was at the Uchiha estate. He would be lying if he said that the house felt empty whenever Sakura had been around. Hell, even his father, the strict, stern man, was _happy_ whenever he saw the bubbly, bouncing teenager follow Sasuke in after him through the front door.

"Great! The party is this Saturday at 7:00 PM. Do you need a ride, or are you going to be driving with Naruto?" Sakura thought about it for a minute before she nodded her head.

"Yeah, I will probably be riding with Naruto to the party. You said seven, right?" Sasuke nodded and was about to say something else, but a woman appeared with both Sasuke's food and Sakura's coffee. The two thanked the woman, grabbed their items, and walked out of the café. Sakura set her coffee aside on one of the tables and shimmied into her cream jacket, before picking up her iced-coffee.

"I'm so sorry for what I did."

Sakura widened her eyes and raised her head to face Sasuke, and the look on his face was enough to know that the man really _did_ feel sorry for her. Sasuke hardly ever apologized, but for it to sound genuine and serious was rare.

"I know what I did was wrong, horrible, and disgusting, and I am so, _so_ sorry for it. I felt so god-damned bad when I watched you drive home with tears on your face, and I felt so bad when you had to come over for the last time to grab your stuff. I was an idiot, a fuckup, and an ignorant asshole, but _god_ Sakura, I am so sorry…"

Silence struck between the two for the longest time and Sasuke knew that she was never bound to forgive him, so with a sigh, Sasuke turned on his shoes and began to walk away.

"It's…okay."

His steps froze in place, and for the lengthiest time, Sasuke refused to turn around because he was so worried that she was going to have a smirk on her face and say, _"Ha! You think I was going to forgive you?"_

Ever so slowly, Sasuke found the courage to turn and when he saw Sakura with tears pricking her eyes, he frowned. "I forgive you, but…can I ask why? Why did that happen?"

Sasuke sighed and glanced down at his coffee and bit his bottom lip, unsure of how to even answer her when he, himself, did not know. "I truly don't know," he answered as he looked up. "I was an idiot and had the _perfect_ girlfriend, but when I went to college and you were still a senior, I…don't know. I felt so bad for it, and I still do to this day."

Sakura nodded her head slowly and let out a heavy sigh, and Sasuke knew that this was because she was trying not to let her tears fall. She always did that whenever she was bound to cry or have an emotional breakdown.

"I forgive you, Sasuke. That was almost five years ago, and…I can't hold a grudge very long, unlike you."

Sasuke chuckled at her words, mostly because she knew that she was right. Sakura was always more to forgive and forget, while Sasuke (after handling the problem with his fists) would always bring the subject up wherever he went.

"Thank you," he said softly and Sakura smiled at him warmly. A true smile.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, we were bound to see a lot of each other anyway with you being my brother's best friend, and your folks wanting to see more of me. It couldn't have been helped, I suppose." Sasuke couldn't help but to agree in his mind about that, too. With Sakura now coming to the party Saturday, Sasuke was sure that his mother (and secretly his father) will be jumping for joy when they hear about the pink-haired woman coming, too.

Sasuke could already see his mother screaming, possibly crying, as she would run to Sakura and jump in the air. His father would more-than-likely hug the girl, but longer than what he had done with either Sasuke or Itachi in their lives. Suki was a mystery on how she would react to the woman, but he was sure that she would find the woman pretty.

"So, see you Saturday?"

Sasuke smiled as he nodded his head. With that, Sakura said her goodbyes, turned on her nude heels, and walked in the direction of her Honda Civic. As Sasuke watched the pink-haired girl climb into her vehicle and drive off, he couldn't help but feel that same damn feeling he felt when he first saw her the first time. And that feeling that he was experiencing only meant one thing…

He was falling in love with Haruno Sakura again.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

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 **Author's Note:** Thank you again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows!

I love you all!

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sakura**

Sakura sighed as she sat in the comfortable, black couch that was in the middle of her living room. It was reaching almost midnight and Sai was not home, again. When she had arrived back from the café and had not heard anything from the man, she just decided on making dinner for herself and not for them both. Sai was probably out screwing another woman and Sakura felt tears prick her eyes at the thought.

 _I thought he loved me,_ she thought in her head as she recalled all of the happy moments that the two of them had shared before. Sai had had his moments of being hot-tempered before they were engaged, but it was never like _this._ Where in the hell did it all go wrong? This was the second time that she had been cheated on, and it was at this point, where Sakura truly felt like she was problem of it all. Things had been perfect with Sasuke, and things had been okay with Sai, but that had all changed.

Sasuke was always the one to show up at her front door with roses whenever he would come to see her, while Sai, hell she was lucky to get a sincere kiss on the cheek anymore. Sakura laid her head on her left hand (that was propped against the couch) and began to think about all of the memories that she had with Sasuke. Sure, there were some bad, but _man_ there were some wonderful ones.

When Sakura had turned eighteen, Sasuke had taken her on a vacation in the mountains for her birthday. They hiked, saw wildlife, and even made love for the first time. Sasuke was a couple years older than she, and even though the two had been dating for a bit, there was no way in _hell_ they were doing anything sexual until Sakura was of age. The last thing that they needed was Minato and Fugaku to be breaking bones and faces.

Mostly Sasuke's.

Sakura felt a smile slowly kissed her lips as she remembered the hiking that they did. She could easily remember the sounds of the birds chirping everywhere, the tall, lush-green trees overcasting them, and thankfully, shielding them from the bright sun. Since they were so high in the mountains, the sun was much more harsher. But, it was more-or-less the animals that really did it for Sakura. She saw so many foxes, deer, and had even managed to glimpse at a pack of coyotes chasing down their prey before she descended off into the trees. She recalled telling Sasuke that she wanted to live in a beautiful house near the wildlife, and possibly, a lake.

Yet…here she was in a luxurious apartment with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Sakura never did like the place because it did not feel like home to her, but Sai wanted it, so she agreed. The smile that had kissed her lips quickly vanished as she recollected all of the times where she had wanted to go visit her friends and family, but Sai would either refuse or hide her passport. So when she saw Naruto in England that one evening, tears of happiness and relief had poured down the girl's face. Naruto had even come back to their old apartment, met Sai, and _somehow_ managed to convince Sai for him and Sakura to move back home. It was not too long after, did Tsunade show up and talk about her job occupation.

The sound of the front door opening caused Sakura's daydreaming to stop, and she raised her head to watch Sai walk in. He wasn't drunk, and Sakura felt her body tense. He would be expecting dinner and when he would see that there was nothing made…

Sakura said not a word as she watched him walk into the dining room, then the kitchen. The heard the sound of the fridge opening and when an angry sigh left his lips, Sakura clenched her hands.

"Was there dinner even made?"

She heard him slam his keys down on the kitchen counter and she watched as he came around the corner like a bat out of hell. Sakura was instantly on her feet and she narrowed her eyes as he stormed towards her.

"You didn't tell me if you were coming home or not! And I figured that you were going to be drunk!"

Sai snorted and took a step towards her, but she took one back. His dark eyes narrowed at her, but Sakura found the courage to give him the same expression back. "I'm not going to waste food on a meal that is not going to be even eaten," she said in a cold voice as she stared him down.

"You don't have a choice, Sakura."

 _What the fuck?!_

Sakura's mind was racing and her mouth was open in both shock and anger. "I _do_ have a choice, because this is my life! Just like I have a choice to leave your pathetic ass!"

In a split second, Sai's hand was raised and palmed it against Sakura's cheek. Twice. Blood immediately poured out of Sakura's nose and the girl raised her hand to her injured cheek.

"You're going to leave me?! Remember what happened last time when you tried to leave? You whereabouts were _ruined_ when your job in England contacted me!" Sakura felt tears prick her eyes at the memory. She had left Sai in the middle of the night, emptied her bank account, and _ran_ to the airport. She had told her boss in England prior that day, that she was quitting and going _home._ Her boss had figured home with Sai, when in reality, Sakura was heading back to Konoha. So, when her boss had apparently contacted Sai, it didn't take the man even two seconds to realize what was going on.

Needless to say, Sai was there at the airport waiting to Sakura. And he took her home.

A punch to the eye brought Sakura out of her trance and the girl found herself falling to the ground, only able to see Sai with her right eye as he had punched her left.

"I'm going to bed, and I want you sleeping out here tonight!"

She felt the tears run down her face as she watched him walk down the hall and enter their room. She stayed still for the longest time until she was barely able to hear the shower in the bathroom running.

She couldn't stay here; she had to leave.

Sakura rose to her feet and started to grab her phone, but paused. If she were to send a message or call, Sai could easily track her whereabouts and bring her back. Again. With a shake of her head, Sakura walked to the door, slipped on a pair of sneakers, and barely opened the front door. As she heard the shower continue to stay on, she slipped out the door and quietly closed it shut. The pink-haired girl stayed still for the longest time, before adrenaline shot through her body and she _ran._

Sakura didn't even bother taking the elevator as she stormed down the stairs and out the front door. Bright lights from signs and cars blinded Sakura for a split second, and she held her hand up to shield most of it. Her Honda Civic was in view, but she couldn't take the car, either. Sai would be able to find that, too. Where the hell would she go? She couldn't tell her family; she didn't want to sit in the living room as her mother cried, her brother and father screamed, and one of them calling the police. Sai would just lie and say that she had fallen in the bathroom floor; he always did lie.

A figure flashed in Sakura's mind and before she could think to stop, she ran in the direction of the house. It took about twenty minutes of running, but when Sakura finally reached the porched of the individual's house, she banged on the door. She knew that the person wouldn't be sleeping. Not this late, at least.

It took a few seconds of banging, but eventually, the door opened and a blond-haired individual opened the door to stare at the girl.

"Ino!"

Ino stared at Sakura's state and not even a second later, pulled the girl in and shut the door with a lock. She didn't ask anything as she brought Sakura to the bathroom, forced her to sit on the toilet, and ran water over a cool rag. Ino knelt down in front of Sakura and slowly began to wipe the blood, sweat, and tears from her face.

"What the _fuck_ happened, Sakura?"

Sakura gasped as she gripped onto the sides of Ino's toilet. Ino had no idea about Sai acting this way to her, in fact, no one did but Sai and she.

"S-Sai," she was barely managed to voice out, and the look of horror and shock came across her best-friend's features.

Ino paused at dabbing the girl's wounds and threw the rag to the ground, before she grabbed Sakura's hands gently. "You _need_ to turn him in," she said and Sakura's wide-eyes and loud slurs of crying caused her to frown.

"I-I can't, Ino. He'll still find me. It takes forever for cases like that to end, and half of the time, the people are _dead_ before it ends."

"You'll be _dead_ if you stay with him any longer!"

Sakura lowered her head and gasped out again. "Ino, I can't sit in the room and explain everything that he did to me. It can take up to a year for them to finish, and…I can't see the looks on my family's faces if they hear about this."

"Or the Uchiha's faces," said Ino as she grabbed the rag again and began to tend to the blood on Sakura's face one more. The confused look on Sakura's face was enough for Ino to continue. "You and Sasuke may not be dating, but remember that the Uchiha's saw you as their daughter. And even if Sasuke- the bastard- hurt you like he did, you know damn well that he would _kill_ Sai. He and Itachi were raised to not hit women."

Sakura did not say a word as Ino continued to wipe the access stuff on her face, before she finally finished and tossed the bloody rag into the sink. Ino leaned against the sink as she stared at her best-friend. Her eye was swollen and bruised, her eyes were red from tears, and her face had obvious swelling. "You need to do something, Sakura."

Sakura bit her bottom lip that was quivering and sat there in thought. She knew that she _did_ have to do something, but what? She raised her hands and combed her fingers through her long, pink locks before pausing slowly as an idea crossed her mind. "I can run away," she said and the look on Ino's face was a definite no.

"Sakura, you just got back home, and now you want to run away?"

"Well, what else do you want me to do, Ino?!"

"Turn his fucking ass in."

Sakura just stared at Ino for the longest time and she slowly shook her head. Part of her wanted to leave Sai, but the other part of her knew that Sai would somehow find his way back. If he even did find her again, if she were to run away, he would _surely_ kill her.

Ino sighed heavily and knelt down to her best-friend's level, grasping her hands again and stared at the girl right in the eye. "You can stay here. You know that there is an extra bedroom down the hall. I will let you live here _only_ if you turn him in. Your family will be upset, but not at you. All they may do is ask why you did not do anything sooner. Sakura, please, as your best-friend I can't see you like this again…"

Sakura choked out a sob before she nodded her head, her pink hair falling in front of her face as she slowly lowered it. Ino held onto her best-friend tightly as the pink-haired girl cried her eyes out in the bathroom.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

 **Sasuke**

A phone call was 2:00 AM was something that Sasuke was not expecting, and as he reached over to pick up the phone, he told the person on the other end that it better be important, or someone was going to die.

It had been Kiba explaining to Sasuke that it was urgent, and judging by the sound of his voice, it was serious, too. Kiba had only told Sasuke to come to the station, and fast. Sasuke had asked him what was going on, but Kiba had only replied with: "You'll have to see for yourself" before hanging up on the chief.

Now, Sasuke was racing to the station, practically going twenty over the speed limit as he weaved through the cars. Did something happen to his mother? Suki? His family? Or maybe Naruto? What in the hell was going on?

As Sasuke parked the car in the parking lot, he nearly ripped the seat belt off of him. He then closed the squad door with a slam, and ran towards the front doors of the station. The second that he entered it, he could see Ino, Kiba, Neji, and Shikamaru standing outside of his office. Ino's eyes were red and puffy, so she had obviously been crying, while the three men's expression held a mixture of pain and anger.

What in the hell was going on?

"What the fuck is going on here?" Sasuke asked as he looked at the four individuals who all held the similar expression.

Ino opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it shut and lowered her head. "You need to go in that room and see for yourself," said Shikamaru. Sasuke turned to look at him with his eyes now narrowed. If this was some joke, Sasuke was making sure that badges were being taken, jobs would be lost, and positions would be demoted. Joking (especially at 2:30 AM) about serious altercations in a police station was _not_ okay.

Sasuke glanced at all four individuals once more, before he opened the door and peered inside. The second that he saw long pink hair, his body jerked and his expression furrowed. Why was Sakura in here? As he was about to address her name, the pink-haired girl raised her head and that was when Sasuke lost it.

 **x-x-x-x-x**

"What in the fuck, Sakura!?"

Sasuke had been screaming the same thing for at least an hour, and though it may have been a question, Sakura was never able to voice her response before Sasuke was screaming again. The second that he had noticed bruises and dried blood, he had ordered everyone to go. They bickered for about thirty-minutes, before they all agreed and finally left. Sasuke had then shut the office door shut and let his anger loose.

"There better be a fucking reason why you have blood on your face, a bruise on your eye, and a welt on both of your cheeks!"

Sasuke took this time to sit down in his office chair and raised his hands, covering his face. He almost felt like all of this was his fault. If he did not treat Sakura the way she had been treated, things would be different, and Sakura would _definitely_ not have any marks on her.

"Sai did this to me," she said softly and Sasuke raised his head in completely fury. "What!" He swore that if it wasn't so late at night, he would have gone to the man's apartment and beat the shit out of him now. How could someone beat someone so small, fragile, and beautiful?

Sighing, Sasuke reached into his desk drawer and grabbed a yellow notepad, before grabbing a pen from his utensil holder. He slapped the notepad on his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose, not sure if he was ready to hear the things that Sakura was about to say to him.

"Let's start from the beginning…."

 **x-x-x-x-x**

Sasuke watched as Naruto rubbed his younger sister's forearms slowly. From where he was standing by the main doors of the police station, Sasuke could easily see that Naruto was trying his best not to go kill Sai right now. He may have been staring at Sakura with a worrisome look, but the Uchiha knew his best friend better than that. Hell, even Naruto had commented how he was surprised that Sasuke had not gone to kill Sai.

He thought about it; he really did, but Sasuke decided that it would be better to send a unit to Sai's apartment and bring him in instead. Sasuke knew the second that he would see Sai, he would send a fist flying right into that sonofabitch's mouth. Maybe he would know how it felt to be hit then.

As Naruto opened his passenger side door for Sakura, Sasuke watched as the pink-haired look at the him for a brief second, and in that brief second, she mouthed _"thank you"_ and climbed in the car. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets as he sighed heavily, watching Naruto climb in the driver's side and pull off to either their parents or his house. He was sure that when Minato would catch wind of his daughter being abused, that there was going to be a war between Sai and the entire town of Konoha.

The Uzumaki's were extremely well respected, just like the Uchiha's, so to hear about the youngest member of the Uzumaki family being hurt, well…let's just say that violence is a weak word compared to what will be done.

Sasuke watched the car drive farther and farther away, and he continued to stare at the road where Naruto had turned off, until Shikamaru's squad car pulled in. Sasuke watched as the man parked the car and stepped out of the vehicle. He was pissed. His lips were pulled back tight, his brows were furrowed, his eyes dark, and his body tense. Sasuke watched as he walked towards the back of his car, opened the rear door, and ripped out a figure who was wearing a simple black T-shirt and shorts.

Sasuke didn't say a word as he watched Shikamaru violently pull Sai into the station and take him into the back where he would be forced to change clothes, and shoved into a random cell. Sasuke had already told Shikamaru and the others that he wanted to be the one to talk to Sai, not Neji, not Kiba, him.

And boy was it going to be fun.


End file.
